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US To Send ‘Thousands’ More Troops To Saudi Arabia
US To Send ‘Thousands’ More Troops To Saudi Arabia
Reuters reports, citing defense or administration sources, that the US is set to send thousands of additional troops to Saudi Arabia in the wake of last month’s Aramco attacks.
“The United States is planning to send a large number of additional forces to Saudi Arabia following the Sept. 14 attack on its oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran,” according to a breaking Reuters report.
Though the Pentagon has yet to officially confirm the report with comment, Reuters noted the “sources did not specify exactly how many troops would be deployed but said it was expected to be in the thousands.”
And Bloomberg reports this could be as many as 1,800 new personnel, pending an official Pentagon statement:
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to announce a new deployment of U.S. forces to the Middle East as tensions rise over Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and an explosion on an Iranian oil tanker.
As many as 1,800 military personnel, including two air squadrons, are expected to be deployed to the region,including to Saudi Arabia, according to a defense official.
Earlier in the month the Pentagon deployed 500 troops in coordination with King Salman and crown prince MbS for “regional stability” and to counter Iran.
Ironically this comes as Trump has promised to “slowly” get “out of the Middle East”.
Hundreds Of US Troops Begin Deployment To Saudi Arabia To Counter Iran
Hundreds Of US Troops Begin Deployment To Saudi Arabia To Counter Iran
The deployment of hundreds of US troops to Saudi Arabia as part of a build-up to counter Iran in the region amid soaring tensions and a dangerously ratcheting “tanker war” has begun, TheWall Street Journal reported Friday night.
The Pentagon first revealed on Wednesday that 500 of the 1000 total troops announced by the White House last month to bolster US presence in the Middle East would be heading to the Prince Sultan Air Base, situated in the desert east of Riyadh.
Crucially, Prince Sultan Air Base has been closed to American troops since the rapid fall of Baghdad and overthrow of Saddam at the start of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
The WSJ report confirms the new deployment is en route within 24 hours after Iran’s elite IRGC seized two British tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. One tanker has already released, but the other – British-flagged Stena Impero and its crew – is still being detained.
According to the report:
The military already has begun to deploy more than 500 U.S. service members to Prince Sultan Air Base, about 150 kilometers southwest of Riyadh, officials said. Saudi officials didn’t respond to requests for comment. Officials from U.S. Central Command, which overseas the Middle East, declined to comment.
It’s the latest sign that the Trump Administration is continuing its military buildup in the region, which has so far included fighter jets, B-52 bombers, an aircraft carrier strike force, Navy destroyers and – of course – more troops.
Citing two senior defense officials, CNN had previously reported that a small number of troops were already in the area, and initial preparations were being made for a Patriot missile defense battery as well as improvements to a runway and airfield. US security assessments have determined that the area would be ideal for US troop deployment because it would be difficult for Iran to target with missiles.
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NATO mulls worst-case scenario in case Trump pulls US troops out of Europe – report
NATO mulls worst-case scenario in case Trump pulls US troops out of Europe – report
According to Spiegel magazine, strategists from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s staff have drafted a secret report which includes a worst-case scenario in which Trump orders US troops to withdraw from Europe and fulfills his threat to make Washington less involved in European security.
“For the first time, the US exit from NATO has become a threat”which would mean the end of the bloc, a German NATO officer told the magazine.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly slammed NATO, calling the alliance “obsolete.” He also suggested that under his administration, the US may refuse to come to the aid of NATO allies unless they“pay their bills” and “fulfill their obligations to us.”
“We are experiencing a moment of the highest and yet unprecedented uncertainty in the transatlantic relationship,” said Wolfgang Ischinger, former German ambassador in Washington and head of the prominent Munich Security Conference. By criticizing the collective defense, Trump has questioned the basic pillar of NATO as a whole, Ischinger added.
The president-elect therefore has to reassure the European allies that he remains firm on the US commitment under Article 5 of the NATO charter prior to his inauguration, the top diplomat stressed.
Earlier this week, Stoltenberg lambasted Trump’s agenda, saying: “All allies have made a solemn commitment to defend each other. This is something absolutely unconditioned.”
Fearing that Trump would not appear in Brussels even after his inauguration, NATO has re-scheduled its summit – expected to take place in early 2017 – to next summer, Spiegel said.
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